


Come Undone

by Thunder_the_Wolf



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Get together fic, M/M, Not entirely canon but not exactly AU, Snippets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 10:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12078840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunder_the_Wolf/pseuds/Thunder_the_Wolf
Summary: Phil Coulson is the absolute last person anyone expected to fall for Tony Stark. This is how it starts.





	Come Undone

It starts well before Afghanistan. 

See, Tony met Phil on a mission and actually ended up saving his life. Drunk as a skunk and the only thing he did to prove that was flirt more than usual. 

“You sure look like you're having a good time.” The billionaire had snorted once the agent was within hearing distance. 

“Hello, Mr. Stark!” Phil chirped falsely.  _ “Love _ the party.” 

“No you don't, but that'll stay between us if you follow me now.” 

Tony was unnaturally close, basically wrapped around Phil, to the delight of some and the disgust or jealousy of others. Phil let himself be led out of the room and down a hall, Tony's body all but moulded to his. He let himself go a bit more limp than usual. He could play a part. 

Tony didn't stop, even as they traveled a few empty halls, until they reached an empty room. 

The entire time, he babbled on about nothing and Phil nodded eagerly, trying to act like he gave two shits and a fan as the man before him whined about the pitfalls of getting laid. 

It was a cover, and they both knew it. 

Stark's voice grew sharp when they reached a certain room and he closed a door.

“JARVIS, you up, buddy?” 

“For you, sir? Always.” Came a voice through a speaker from somewhere.

“Lockdown and search this room.” He ordered. “I think whoever tries followings us will end up in a heap outside the door, but that's neither here nor there. JARVIS, this is Agent.” Tony announced. 

Phil did an extremely good job of not reacting, but he did pale the slightest bit. 

“It's not anything you did, trust me, you were perfect for the role. Even your cover hates me and that's probably the point. Here's the thing though, and this isn't something just anyone picks up on so feel free to thank me anytime, your gaze was sharp as hell, man. Like, dude, if you're gonna play Eagle Eye, you can't make it obvious that you're looking for someone. 

Although I'd say you did a brilliant job of making everything think you were glaring at me the entire time. Your loathe for the party saturated the room just like it was supposed to, I guess. 

Now, I don't know your mission and I don't want to, but you're staying here tonight. In this room. There's a bathroom through that door, mini fridge stocked to the gills, mini-bar is ten times better. Knock yourself out. I'm calling Fury.” 

Okay,  _ what _ ?! Alarm flickered in his eyes and he went to speak, but Stark beat him to it.

“Oh, don't worry. I'm probably the only one, aside from whoever was going to try and kill you tonight, who knows what type of agent you are, Agent, and that's more than fine by me. JARVIS, what's the situation outside?” 

“You may wish to find another entrance, sir.” The man offered dryly through the speakers. 

“Doable.” Stark scoffed. He opened a section of the wall beside the fridge and loped out. The wall slammed shut behind him. 

_ Well… that's one way to break my cover. _

 

“How did he know?” Phil asked later on. 

“Starks have always had a hand in SHIELD, even if not everything they did was seen.” Fury replied, cryptic as ever. 

The director didn't bring it up again and Phil didn't push. He'd have to find out for himself. 

  
  
  
  
  


Stark invited him for coffee on more than one occasion, and Phil showed up the fifth time, after Hill scowled and said if she found Stark's voicemail on her phone one more time… so he gave in and went. 

Thank God Clint and Natasha were in Budapest. They couldn't find anything on him over there. But when they came back… well, after things got back to normal, there was no escaping “Coulson’s got a girlfriend” spy edition.

God forbid they ever find out the truth. 

  
  
  


Coulson's the only one at SHIELD that Tony Stark will do anything for, no questions asked. (Actually, the questions come after the thing is done, but no one's there for that part.) It takes a lot for them to get there, but let's just say that Afghanistan was not the first time Tony's woken up in a cold, dark place all banged up. He tries to avoid it as much as possible, but sometimes fate gets the better of him. 

“Fuck fate.” Phil scoffs as he and Tony stagger out into the sun. It was bright and cold and what the fuck were they doing in Canada?! 

“We'll find out later. I'm going home.” Tony hissed, shivering so much his teeth actually chattered. 

“I'm pretty sure there's a SHIELD base around here somewhere.” Phil mused. 

“While I recognize SHIELD's status as an international intelligence agency, I doubt they have a base in the middle of nowhere. We're more likely to be eaten by wolves than find a base within reasonable walking distance.” 

“Wanna bet?” 

 

Coulson limped into that base a thousand bucks richer and fighting to keep himself upright.

“Take him.” Was the first thing he hissed out when people started surrounding them. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ “We could always get hitched in another country.”  _

_ “I don't need a marriage certificate to spend the rest of my life with you.”  _

_ “You do if you wanna be as rich as me.”  _

_ “Who the hell needs that?” _

  
  


They don’t get married for a while. Not even after it’s legal. He doesn’t exist in Tony Stark’s world and Tony Stark is a blip on his radar in the grand scheme of things. According to everyone but Fury and Hill. And that’s only because he told them over lunch one day in Fury’s super secret bunker just how head-over-heels he was. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Afghanistan… he doesn’t remember much of those three months. Fury branded him out of commision the second SHIELD got the news that Tony Stark wasn’t coming home. 

It freed Coulson up to do what he wanted most (which, in the moment, was curl up in Tony’s giant penthouse and let the world swallow him whole… yeah, that lasted all of three days before he was chomping at Fury’s heels to  _ let him help _ -.)

Fury whirled on him after the twelfth time, lone eye blazing.

“You’re too close to this and you know it.” The Director hissed. 

Not outright compromised, never that, but something inches away. 

He doesn’t go home. Instead, he goes to Stark Industries and sets up a meeting with Pepper because  _ I don’t know about you, but Stane is creeping me the fuck out and not just because he’s got Tony hanging onto every word he says. We should fix that, yeah? _

So they do research.

And holy hell, Stane’s gotta go. 

 

But then they find Tony. 

And Tony doesn’t know that Stane has to go, nor are either of them too keen on telling him that. But they do. They show him the research they’ve gathered and he burrows in his workshop. 

Mind you, this is a few days after the press conference in which Tony officially shut down the weapons manufacturing part of SI in favor of defensive gear. 

This had been in the works for awhile, according to Pepper. Not that Stane knew, because he was absolutely furious. Coulson smothered a laugh at the bulging vein on the man’s purple face. 

  
  


“Burn it.” Tony orders when he comes back from his binge. 

His shirt is soaked with sweat, but not grease, which means that he was working on something not his cars… maybe he had a new project in the works?

"Find every copy you’ve made of these and burn them too. Stane doesn’t need this getting to him.”

He says nothing more on the subject and their research is back-tabled. For now. Because Tony looks a wreck, far more than he should.  

“What are you about to do?”

“See how far back this goes. I need to know who else knows about this and how long it’s been going on. You guys got the big fish, and that’s an awesome start, but if there’s even a paralegal here who agrees with what Stane is doing, we need to know as soon as possible and we need to get them out.” He growled. Tony was annoyed, and rightfully so. Still… 

“You need sleep.” Coulson insisted. 

“I’m fine.”

“You’re nowhere near fine. At the very least, take a shower.”

“Phil-.”

“Tony.” 

That got him a sulking glare. 

“Alright.” He grumbled. “Pepper, feel free to make yourself at home. I’ll let you know if I need anything, but considering the look Phil’s giving me I doubt I will. Try and enjoy the rest of your day, yeah?”

“You too.” Pepper grinned. 

Tony allowed Phil to drag him down the nearest hall. 

  
  


About a week after that was a gala that had been on the books for about a year in advance. Stane’s schemes couldn’t afford to mess this up, so Tony put on a suit and Pepper’s dress was stunning and they went to the gala. 

Phil insisted on not going, because SHIELD had no business there and it would look suspicious, him being there. It would tip Stane off that they were onto him. So Phil stayed at the house and caught up on three months worth of reality television and cooking shows that he hadn’t had time for. 

 

“We have confirmation of what Stane’s doing from the outside world!” Tony announced in a falsely cheerful voice, slamming an average manilla folder onto the coffee table in front of Phil. The SHIELD agent glanced up at his partner, a slightly annoyed look on his face. 

“You’d break your hand if you’d done that any harder. Pepper alright?” He asked. 

“Stane wouldn’t try anything major just yet. He’s got something big in play, and he’s not going to fuck it up just because I’m onto him. I sent Pep home with some friends of yours.”

More than likely hand-picked by Fury or Hill. If not because of his own personal interest, which he doubted, than because she was the assistant to a high-ranking CEO and SHIELD was handling the investigation to her boss.

Phil scanned the contents of the file, smirking when he came across who collected the information. 

“Christine Everhart, hm? Isn’t she the one who-?”   
“Yes, but we do not speak of that night.” Tony hissed. 

Phil raised an eyebrow, visibly amused. 

“I’m not sure why not. You did as well getting yourself out of her pants as you did into mine.” 

“You’re ridiculous and I have no idea what I see in you.” Tony scowled, but the light in his eyes told Phil that he was joking still. Coulson snorted. 

“You’re just not looking hard enough.” He informed the other man. “I will admit that your little trick was awesome.” 

“You think so? Perhaps I should do it more often.”    
“What, and make Pepper deal with a horde of angry reporters? You might want to hold off on that. What are you going to do about the double-dealing?”

“Well shit, if that didn’t kill the mood then I don’t know what would.”

“Watching you flirt with Christine Everhart killed my mood. I’m just returning the favor. In all seriousness-.”

“Really? You were jealous of some two-bit reporter who couldn’t even hold her own against Pepper? I never pegged you as having low self-esteem but-.”    
Phil rolled his eyes and pulled the billionaire into a kiss. It was short, but deep enough to prove his point. 

“Terrorists.” He deadpanned when they broke apart. Tony groaned and buried his face in Phil’s shoulder. 

“You drive me to drink sometimes, y’know that, sweetheart?”

“I’m quite sure of it.” Phil snorted. “But if you deal with this the right way then I might make it up to you.”    


He woke up to find the other side of the bed empty and cold. The windows were open. He knew because the saltwater carried a distinct scent on the breeze. His phone rang from his bedside and he plucked it off the nightstand. 

“Coulson.” He muttered sharply. 

“Were you asleep just now? I thought you spent the night with your Cellist.” Maria was on the other end. Slightly concerning but not too terrible in the grand scheme of things. But why was she asking about-?   
Phil groaned. 

“What happened?”

“There’s a person-shaped robot that’s currently being chased by two F-22 Raptors, so the Air Force is scrambling for answers. Whatever they've done, I suspect we’ll hear it on the news tonight.” 

“Do I need to come in?”

“For once, I think you should stay right where you are. I’m pretty sure whoever it was had a plan and we caught them on the tail-end of seeing it through.” 

“Even better.” Phil hissed, annoyance clear in his voice. 

“Well shit, I’m not sure I envy the Cellist.” The Deputy Director of SHIELD snickered.

“You shouldn’t.” Coulson growled. “By the time I’m done with them, they’ll be meatloaf. Finely chopped if they piss me off enough.” 

“The less I know, the less I can arrest you for.” Maria reminded him pleasantly.

“That’s not SHIELD’s area.” Phil groused. “Seriously, what the fuck were they thinking?”

“I have no idea, but this is where I leave you. Good luck dealing with your cellist but try not to cry too hard over a few broken strings.”

_ They wouldn’t be broken if he had taken a different approach. _

He let her have the last word and hung up the phone. 

_ What the fuck have you done, Tony… _

Perhaps he’d find out from his partner before the six o’clock news hit the circuit.

  
  


As it turns out, the next time he sees Tony is a fews days later, after everything blows over. But that’s getting ahead of himself.

Pepper calls to him a few hours after the “training exercise” saying that Stane was onto them. She asked him to meet her at Stane’s office when she gave a signal, but that she needed tangible proof. Coulson objected heavily at first. 

“You can’t possibly think Tony would want you to stick your neck out like this!” 

“Tony’s not the end-all-be-all, and if he wants to yell at me, he can do that. But this is getting people killed, Phil. Kids barely out of their teens got killed because they were in the right place at the right time and they had less resources than the other guys. I know good and well that’s not the legacy Tony wants to leave behind.”

The SHIELD agent scowled and rolled his eyes, glad that she couldn’t see him through the phone. 

“I’ll be on standby.” He insisted.

Good thing, too, because right as he walked into Stark Industries’ main base, Pepper flew around the corner, eyes wide. 

“Ms. Potts, you said I could set up a meeting to debrief you and Mr. Stark about Afghanistan.” He began calmly. 

“Yes, absolutely, that’s exactly what I said!” She chirped frantically as she hurried toward him.

"Definitely, your office. Give you the best debrief ever.” She blurted out. Phil fought the urge to laugh as they hurried out of the building and got into the car.

 

She shows him what she found and he, of course, takes it to Fury. 

“If this is what I think it is…” The Director of SHIELD began nervously. “Then you’ll want to check Stark’s house. Ms. Potts will be under guard at SI until further notice.”    
  


 

He was two steps from the entrance to the kitchen when his ears started ringing. Something (a drill? What would Tony be doing with a drill in the livingroom?!) was whirring heavily nearby. 

The last thing he saw was Tony paralyzed on the couch and, Stane hovering beside him with that creepy smile on his face. 

_ Shit… I’m too late! _ Was his last thought before his world went dark.

  
  
  


“... il? Phil, can you hear me? Coulson!” That wasn’t Tony’s voice… or Stane’s. 

Where were they?!

“Wait a minute, you can’t move. We don’t know how powerful that buzzer was. You’re lucky you only got knocked out-.”

Rhodes, this was James Rhodes. This was Tony’s oldest friend. Phil was safe here… but Tony wasn’t.

That made him squirm all the more, and eventually Rhodes got the message. 

“Tony’s not here.” He informed the previously paralyzed man. “He’s gone to stop whatever Stane’s got cooked up.”

**_What?!_ **

Oh, when he got his hands on that man… 

  
  


They all survive by the skin of their teeth because Pepper would have fried had she been delayed any further and Tony… there were way too many ways things could have gone wrong in that street battle… God, it’s all Phil can do not to wring the other man’s neck, but damn if they aren’t all alive.

He’s forced to cash in some of his sick leave, as his hearing fully returns. 

  
  
  
  


“Is there any particular reason you haven’t been sleeping lately?” Tony mumbles when it’s all over. 

It’s well past the time to sleep, and the genius is just on the edge of it. 

Coulson, on the other hand, has been awake the entire time, all but glued to Tony’s side and pulling the other man against him when he slipped under the covers. 

“I should be asking you that.” Coulson muttered. “You don’t look like you slept much.”    
Tony shrugged. 

“You’re shaking.” He noticed. “Vibrating, rather. Is that you or your phone?”

Phil didn’t respond, just pulled Tony closer. They were practically molded together at this point, but he still seemed so far away… Phil adjusted his grip. 

“We’re okay.” Tony said suddenly. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere without you for… a while.” 

Phil tightened his hold at the thought of going anywhere for the next few weeks, at least. Fury owed him enough vacation time that he could take off a year if he wanted to. Such was the nature of his work. 

  
  
  


Next day? Press conference. 

Fury and Hill have been arguing the entire time about the message they want Stark to send without bothering to consult said messenger. Fortunately for Stark, Hill has him covered. 

“If we go with the Bodyguard angle he’s going to run himself into the ground trying to be two people at once. At least if he’d out in the open, he can manage the shit that comes his way without having to worry about someone using Stark to get to Iron Man.”

“What about someone using Coulson to get to Stark?” Fury rebuffed. 

“As of right now, the only link between Phil Coulson and Tony Stark according to the outside world, is that Phil has a liaison position. Put him somewhere else and we neutralize that threat.”

“That won’t be enough and you know it.”    
“Well, Stark’s not going to go for whatever your angle is.”

“He never does.” Fury groused. “Have Coulson give him the cards anyway.”   
“Yes, sir.” Deputy Director Hill scowled before turning to walk out the door. She had a message to deliver. 

  
  
  
  


“I am Iron Man?”    
“Fuck you, Fury. I know what your game was and I’m not about to play it.” Tony growled. “I’ll go along as it suits me, but the second it doesn’t? I’m out.” 

 


End file.
